The 3 golden rules of accounting are also referred to as the debit and credit rules of accounting. They refer to how debits and credits should be handled in the General Ledger for different types of transactions.
The first type of account is a "personal account." This doesn't just include your own personal accounts, but also companies and other organizations. Rule number one, which applies to how you'd handle debits and credits when accounting for this group, is: You Debit the receiver and Credit the giver
The second type of account is real accounts. This group refers to assets, both tangible (equipment, furniture) and intangible (copyrights, patents). Rule number two, which applies to how you'd handle debits and credits when accounting for this group, is: You Debit what comes in and Credit what goes out
The third type of account is nominal accounts. Nominal accounts are temporary income and expenses, like sales and purchases. The rule you'd use when recording debits and credits for this group is Rule number three, which is: You Debit all expenses and losses and Credit all incomes and gains
